-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Three people died Tuesday in an explosion in the Turkish capital Ankara , in what may have been a terror attack , Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin told CNN sister network CNN Turk .

`` There was a powerful explosion in a car that was parked , '' the minister said , citing preliminary information . `` The possibility that it was a terrorist attack is high . ''

He said it was also possible that a gas explosion had caused the blast , `` though that is a weak possibility . ''

The explosion shook a crowded street in the center of Ankara , damaging vehicles and buildings on Kumrular Street near the Kizilay metro station , the official Anatolia news agency reported .

An eyewitness described the scene as `` terrible '' and `` very chaotic . ''

`` Cars were exploding . Pieces were spreading around . We were terrified , '' the unnamed witness told CNN Turk .

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said earlier there were no deaths , but 15 people were wounded , Anatolia reported .

Ankara governor Alaaddin Yuksel said officials , including police and a prosecutor , were investigating the cause of the blast .

He said many cars were parked on the street with garbage bags under them at the time of the explosion .

Five people are in surgery , he added .

An emergency services doctor at Numune Hospital in Ankara said 10 injured people were brought to the hospital . One was in intensive care , one was in the burn unit and the other eight have light injuries , said the doctor .

None of the injuries are life-threatening , said the doctor , who did not give a name . Doctors in state hospitals are not allowed to speak to the media .

The explosion took place in front of the Cankaya municipal building , local official Bulent Tanik said on Turkish television .

He cited eyewitnesses as saying a burning gas tank had been thrown out a window onto the street .

Police have sealed off the street , Anatolia reported .

-- CNN 's Yesim Comert and Talia Kayali contributed to this report .

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NEW : A car explodes in central Ankara , the interior minister says

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NEW : The possibility that it was a terror attack is high , he says

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Wounded people are taken to nearby hospitals